According to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), May 2013 chip sales were up 4.6 percent month-over-month. That's the biggest increase in three years.

All Things D's Arik Hesseldahl reported, "Sales of personal computers and servers may be slowing down, but sales of chips are growing faster than at any time in the last three years, according to new figures from the Semiconductor Industry Association."

Jessie Shen with DigiTimes added, "The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) has announced that worldwide sales of semiconductors grew 4.6% sequentially in May 2013, and identified the growth as 'the largest sequential monthly increase in sales for the industry since March 2010.' SIA disclosed that May semiconductor sales came to US$24.7 billion, up from US$23.62 billion in April."

The Oregonian quoted the SIA's Brian Toohey, who said, "May was an unambiguously strong month for the global semiconductor industry, with growth across all regions and particularly encouraging increases in the Americas and Asia Pacific."

24/7 Wall St. noted, "Monthly sales growth was highest in the Asia Pacific region, up 5.9%, followed by the Americas, where sales rose 5.6%. Sales in Japan grew by 0.9%, while sales in Europe rose just 0.3%."